A Plea In A Time Of Sorrow

Ps. 74

Jay Horsley

In this psalm Asaph, or one of his priestly descendants, is overwhelmed with sorrow for Jerusalem and all that has come upon her. This hardships described in this psalm were never seen in the days of Asaph, thus this psalm either speaks of them by prophecy as seen through the eyes of one who was there, or it was by one who saw these sad things in fact.

The Time Of Sorrow

1 (A Maskil of Asaph.) O God, why hast Thou rejected us forever? Why does Thine anger smoke against the sheep of Thy pasture?

2 Remember Thy congregation, which Thou hast purchased of old, Which Thou hast redeemed to be the tribe of Thine inheritance; And this Mount Zion, where Thou hast dwelt.

The suffering of the people was so intense that it seemed that God had abandoned them and that God no longer even regarded Zion as His own place.

3 Turn Thy footsteps toward the perpetual ruins; The enemy has damaged everything within the sanctuary.

4 Thine adversaries have roared in the midst of Thy meeting place; They have set up their own standards for signs.

5 It seems as if one had lifted up His axe in a forest of trees.

6 And now all its carved work They smash with hatchet and hammers.

7 They have burned Thy sanctuary to the ground; They have defiled the dwelling place of Thy name.

8 They said in their heart, “Let us completely subdue them.” They have burned all the meeting places of God in the land.

The enemies of God's people completely temple and their destruction in it was compared to lumberjacks doing their work with axes. Then they burned it. They didn't just destroy the temple, they went after all the meeting places (synagogues wjh).

9 We do not see our signs; There is no longer any prophet, Nor is there any among us who knows how long.

10 How long, O God, will the adversary revile, And the enemy spurn Thy name forever?

11 Why dost Thou withdraw Thy hand, even Thy right hand? From within Thy bosom, destroy them!

The former ways that God communicated with Israel, the “signs,” the “Urim and Thummin” that the high priest could consult, along with the priests and every knowledgeable person was gone. This was a time of oppression and spiritual darkness. The outcome was only natural, depression. The only hope is to cry to God, “Help Lord, Help!”

Remembrance of God

12 Yet God is my king from of old, Who works deeds of deliverance in the midst of the earth.

13 Thou didst divide the sea by Thy strength; Thou didst break the heads of the sea monsters in the waters.

14 Thou didst crush the heads of Leviathan; Thou didst give him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.

15 Thou didst break open springs and torrents; Thou didst dry up ever-flowing streams.

16 Thine is the day, Thine also is the night; Thou hast prepared the light and the sun.

17 Thou hast established all the boundaries of the earth; Thou hast made summer and winter.

Yet our righteous psalmist still knows that God, even while inactive to relive their dire conditions, is still known to be active and good and working in the world.

So many times we decide that because God had not yet acted to relieve me, that He isn't acting at all. God has been acting from old is in always continuing to act. God was acting in the flood, God is sustaining the cosmos, controlling the natural phenomena and overpowered all the greatest creatures of the earth. We must not forget the constant working and sustaining power of God even at our hardest moments.

The Plea

18 Remember this, O LORD, that the enemy has reviled; And a foolish people has spurned Thy name.

19 Do not deliver the soul of Thy turtledove to the wild beast; Do not forget the life of Thine afflicted forever.

20 Consider the covenant; For the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.

21 Let not the oppressed return dishonored; Let the afflicted and needy praise Thy name.

22 Do arise, O God, and plead Thine own cause; Remember how the foolish man reproaches Thee all day long.

23 Do not forget the voice of Thine adversaries, The uproar of those who rise against Thee which ascends continually.

The Psalmist pleads to God to take note of the evil of the oppressors. God is asked to spare His people from these wickedly ruthless men. The oppressed are the people of God's covenant, His prize possession. God is asked to help them for His own sake.

This is an important point to note. God is not asked to help simply because something unpleasant was happening. So often we plead to God only for our own sake. We pray and ask when we need something. “You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.” (Jas. 4:3)

This selfishness in asking is carried over to a degree that seems strange to us, for he does not speak personally of anything, not even of the sins of the people. So there is no mention of he righteousness of God in imposing these punishments, nor and asking for forgiveness or mercy. We must suppose that he felt the need for mercy as much as any godly man ever did, but such was not the object of his psalm. This plea contains no hint of complaining or mumbling even in the mourning that is evident in his distress.

The lesson of this plea is that even in our distress God's dealings are based on His own time and reasons. Thus our strongest plea to God is not that just that we suffer, for that is the lot of all mankind, but that we are His people and we plead as such. “Consider the covenant...Do arise, O God, and plead Thine own cause...” (vs. 20,22)

His power is our only hope. At the times when all other hope is lost is when our hope in Him can be the clearest and strongest.